"Begin."
As Might Duy, acting as the temporary referee, finished speaking, Uchiha Takumi's hands shot out as fast as lightning.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
A full twelve shuriken were thrown from various tricky angles, colliding with each other in mid air, changing trajectories, instantly weaving a large metal net without any blind spots, descending upon Sora.
This technique was even more fierce and precise than last time, the predictive and insight abilities of the Sharingan were fully displayed.
'Sure enough, a serious Uchiha Chunin is completely different from the brats at school.'
Sora was inwardly alert, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.
With the dynamic vision enhancement of the Sharingan, this shuriken net was indeed troublesome.
But his own dynamic vision, with the hidden enhancement of the Azure Dragon Fruit ability, also far surpassed ordinary people.
Sora's body twisted left and right as if boneless, sometimes crouching low, sometimes leaping sideways, narrowly and dangerously avoiding most of the shuriken.
Unfortunately, the angles of two shuriken were too extreme, impossible to dodge completely.
Sora simply raised his arms, wrapped in special bandages, to block, protecting vital areas of his body.
Clang. Clang.
The bandages were sliced open in two places, the skin and flesh underneath were also cut by the sharp shuriken, instantly bleeding bright red blood.
"Sora, be careful." Guy, standing nearby, couldn't help but shout loudly.
Might Duy, however, was very calm, after all, it was just superficial wounds.
In his view, from years of high intensity training, this was nothing. Not just Sora, even Guy often got similar injuries from bumps and falls during regular training. As long as bones and tendons weren't injured, it didn't affect the fight at all.
Of course, the premise was that the shuriken weren't coated with deadly poison.
But Sora had already observed earlier that the edges of those shuriken gleamed with the cold light of the metal itself, without any dull coloration, and the tips showed no trace of residue from ointments or liquids.
Clearly, although Uchiha Takumi wanted to teach him a lesson, he didn't intend to kill, only using standard-issue shuriken without poison.
Therefore, Sora also chose to directly block those two shuriken.
After dodging the shuriken net, Sora pushed off with his feet, instantly closing the distance. A fierce straight punch shot directly toward Uchiha Takumi's face, intending to use his taijutsu advantage to pressure him.
However, Uchiha Takumi was, after all, a Chunin with rich combat experience. He did not choose to block head-on.
While rapidly retreating, his hands had already completed a series of hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
A thick earthen wall instantly rose from the ground, blocking Sora's path.
Thud.
Sora's fist smashed heavily into the earthen wall, creating a shallow crater as fragments of stone flew everywhere, but it failed to break through.
Earth Release.
Sora was not surprised. For a genius of the Uchiha clan, knowing a few ninjutsu of other elemental natures was perfectly normal. He immediately changed tactics, stepping on the earthen wall to borrow its rebound force and flip backward.
Almost the instant he left his original position, Uchiha Takumi's figure flashed out from the other side of the earthen wall, flames spewing from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
A massive fireball skimmed past the earthen wall, turning the spot where Sora had just rebounded into scorched earth.
If Sora hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been hit.
"Fast reflexes," Uchiha Takumi snorted coldly, his Sharingan locked onto Sora's movements as he tried to predict his next action.
He found that Sora's taijutsu movements were concise and efficient, with almost no unnecessary flourishes, making it difficult to find obvious openings.
This kid… is he really just a first-year at the Ninja Academy? No wonder his combat awareness ranked first in the exam. Uchiha Takumi was secretly shocked, his evaluation of Sora rising yet another level.
I can't let him create distance. If he starts bombarding me with long-range ninjutsu, no matter how strong my recovery ability is, I won't be able to hold out.
Sora decided he had to drag the fight into the close-quarters combat he was most familiar with.
Landing without the slightest pause, he charged at Uchiha Takumi again.
Thud.
Thump.
The two collided once more at close range, fists and feet crashing together and producing dull, heavy impacts.
Uchiha Takumi's taijutsu was also formidable. Combined with the predictive insight of the Sharingan, he was able to fight Sora evenly for a time, trading blows back and forth.
However, Sora's strength and speed were superior. His movements were so fast that they left afterimages, and he gradually gained the upper hand.
"Damn it." Uchiha Takumi was forced to retreat repeatedly after being struck by a powerful side kick from Sora. His arm went numb from the impact, and he realized he could not gain any advantage in a pure taijutsu confrontation.
Uchiha Takumi's thoughts raced as his Sharingan analyzed frantically.
In the next moment, he deliberately slowed his blocking motion, letting his shoulder sink slightly and intentionally exposing a flaw, revealing a tiny opening.
Sora seized the opportunity immediately, driving a hand blade straight in.
Just as the hand blade was about to land, Uchiha Takumi's Sharingan suddenly blazed brightly.
"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique."
This was a simple D-rank genjutsu, usually only capable of making a target see fragmented images of their deepest fears. It lasted for only a very short time and had minimal effect on Chunin-level ninja and above.
Because of the previous backlash, Uchiha Takumi did not dare use the powerful Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique again, fearing another backlash. However, with this simple genjutsu, even if backlash occurred, he was confident he could endure it.
Moreover, Uchiha Takumi never expected this genjutsu to actually control Sora. His goal was merely that brief moment of interference.
As expected, Sora only felt his vision blur slightly, as if he saw a hazy image of Nonō in danger. But the draconic might contained within the Azure Dragon Fruit instantly activated on its own, shattering that trace of illusion like glass and dispersing it. The entire process took less than half a second.
But that half-second pause was already enough.
"Now." Uchiha Takumi's eyes flashed sharply. This was the opening he had been waiting for.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."
A B-rank ninjutsu. This was the strongest Fire Release technique he could currently use, far surpassing the Great Fireball Technique.
Boom!
Three ferocious, roaring fire dragons burst from his mouth, attacking from the left, right, and above simultaneously. Carrying an aura of total destruction, they lunged toward Sora, who had just freed himself from the genjutsu.
"Sora!" Might Duy and Might Guy both cried out in alarm at the same time, their expressions changing drastically. This was already a Fire Release technique with Jonin-level power—extremely terrifying.
A B-rank Fire Release… So he really was hiding a trump card. Facing the three violent fire dragons attacking from different angles, Sora's heart clenched sharply.
The shadow of death instantly enveloped him. Sora immediately judged that with his current defense and movement speed, he absolutely could not evade them completely. Taking them head-on would be nothing short of suicide.
At this critical moment, Sora's mind was unnaturally calm.
The power of the Azure Dragon Fruit could not be exposed easily. However, basic physical recovery and partial beastification beneath the bandages were acceptable.
And there was also the Eight Gates.
"Eight Gates: Gate of Opening, open."
"Gate of Healing, open."
"Gate of Life, open."
Without the slightest hesitation, Sora opened the first three gates directly. Tremendous energy instantly erupted from within his body, green currents of air swirling around him. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his skin took on a faint blood-red hue.
Overwhelming power flooded his entire body, and his speed skyrocketed instantly.
But Sora did not flee immediately. Instead, his hands also rapidly formed hand seals—Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
The Boro Breath of the Azure Dragon Fruit surged forth. In essence, this Boro Breath was dragon breath.
With Sora's current level of control over the fruit, he could unleash it as easily as breathing, the only difference being the level of power.
However, this was Konoha, after all. The necessary disguise still had to be maintained.
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